SOLON, Ohio – Day two in Ohio was unkind to Macomb Baseball as the Monarchs were swept by the Bobcats of Bryant & Stratton College Ohio. The Monarchs rallied from a four-run deficit in game one to take the lead in the sixth, but two late Bobcat runs denied the comeback bid and resulted in an 8-7 setback. The series finale went in favor of the Bobcats by a 17-2 final.
With the losses, the Monarchs record shifts to 2-9 on the young season.
GAME ONE: Bryant & Stratton Ohio 8, Macomb 7
A slow start at the plate resulted in a 5-1 deficit midway through Friday's opener before the Monarchs scored two in the fifth and four in the sixth to take a 7-6 lead. The Bobcats rallied with a run in the sixth and later walked off the Monarchs on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh to pick up the 8-7 win.
Logan Rybarczyk (Chesterfield, Mich./Anchor Bay) led the Monarchs with three runs driven in, all coming on a sixth-inning, bases-clearing double that nearly cleared the right field wall for a grand slam. The Rybarczyk double, the Monarchs lone extra-base hit of the game and one of four hits overall, gave the Blue & White their first lead of the contest at 7-6. The Monarchs couldn't hold on as the Bobcats earned the comeback one-run win.
Alex Mendes (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) followed Rybarczyk with two RBIs while
Jeremy Pudlik (Waterford, Mich./Waterford Mott) drove in one. Pudlik, Rybarczyk,
Adam Amodei (Mt. Clemens, Mich./Chippewa Valley) and
Tom Burt (Village of Clinton, Mich./Clinton) recorded a hit each in the opener.
Gary Glaser III (Chesterfield, Mich./Lutheran North) came on to work four solid innings in relief. The sophomore southpaw struck out five Bobcats across four innings and only allowed three hits.
GAME TWO: Bryant & Stratton Ohio 17, Macomb 2
The series finale did not go in favor of the Monarchs as the Bobcats earned the five-inning win.
Logan Rybarczyk continued his solid day at the plate with a 2-for-3 effort and a run scored, while
Tom Burt and
Ben Dillabough (Warren, Mich./Warren Mott) added a hit each. Burt's hit, a first inning RBI double, was the Monarchs lone extra-base hit of the nightcap.
CONFERENCE PLAY BEGINS NEXT WEEK
The MCCAA Eastern Conference slate kicks off with single 9-inning contests throughout the week. The Monarchs visit Jackson College Tuesday (March 21) for a 2 p.m. first pitch and end the week on the road in Flint against Mott on Saturday. Sandwiched in between the road games is the 2023 home opener on Thursday when the Monarchs host Schoolcraft College for a single 9-inning tilt beginning at 2 p.m.
